Scotophobia in England

The Scotsman:

The poll, for the More 4 show Starkey's Last Word, provides the first real evidence of just how strong anti-Scottish feelings are in England.

A total of 59 per cent of English voters said they would be "influenced" at the next election by the presence of a Scottish Labour leader.

Of these, an overwhelming 93 per cent said they would be influenced in a negative way, and only 7 per cent said the influence would be positive.

Of course I've been highlighting this issue for a long time, leading some to suggest that I am anti-Scottish. Sometimes it may seem that way but it's a cheap shot. Just for the record let me repeat, once again for the sake of clarity, that I have no objection to a Scottish Prime Minister of the UK when England has a parliament and government that absolves that prime minister of responsibility for English issues on which he is unelected and (directly) democratically unaccountable to the people of England. Furthermore, it is not Brown's nationality but the fact that he holds a Scottish constituency seat (he is not elected by an English constituency) that upholds my objection - it is a response to the 'democratic deficit' and not a position adopted because of some pathological loathing for Scottish people.

A spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party played down the importance of the poll: "The next election will be decided on policies, not personalities. Voters will decide who is best for the NHS, schools, the economy and tough action on crime."

The fact that this statement comes from a spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party speaks volumes: there is no English Labour Party, and it's largely the Scottish Labour Party, the personalities within, and their overbearing demands and influence on the UK Labour Party that we have arrived at this state of affairs.

Pledgebank: Scotophobia